Wanderers to host 2027 men's ODI World Cup final as well as India vs Pakistan

The 2023 finalists - defending champions Australia and runners-up India - will kick off the group-stage action of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027 on October 7 in Cape Town. India, who are also in the same group as Pakistan, will face their arch-rivals on October 10 in Johannesburg. Cape Town will host the first semi-final on November 17, while Tshwane will host the second on November 18. Johannesburg will host the final on November 21. Reserve days will be available for both the final and the semi-final.

Group A includes Zimbabwe, India, Australia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Qualifier A. India's remaining group-stage fixtures will see them take on Afghanistan on October 14 in Tshwane, Qualifier A on October 17 in Bloemfontein and Zimbabwe on October 24 in Victoria Falls. The India-Zimbabwe fixture will be the first World Cup match at the new Mosi-oa-Tunya Stadium and will also be the final match of the group stage.

Group B comprises New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, Bangladesh and Qualifier B. On October 9, South Africa will face off against New Zealand in Cape Town, while co-hosts Zimbabwe will face off against Qualifier A in Bulawayo. The remaining matches for South Africa are against Qualifier B on October 13 in Paarl, England on October 16 in Gqeberha, Bangladesh on October 19 in Durban, and Sri Lanka on October 22 in Johannesburg. On October 23, England plays New Zealand in Gqeberha, and Bangladesh plays Qualifier B that same day, concluding the Group B matches.

The group stage will feature 12 double-header days. On October 10, October 14, October 17, and October 24, India is featured. This will be followed by the Super 7 stage, which will feature the top three teams from each of the two groups, along with the better-performing fourth-placed team across the two groups, giving a total of seven teams. The teams will not carry over any points from the group stage for the start of the Super 7, and they will each play six matches between October 25 and November 14. At the conclusion of Super 7, the top four teams will advance to the semi-finals. The team finishing first in the Super 7 will face the fourth-placed team in the first semifinal with the other two teams clashing in the second semifinal. The winners of these two games will eventually face off in the final.

The ICC has pre-seeded seven positions for the Super 7 phase to provide greater certainty around fixture pathways and venue allocations. India are designated A1, Australia A2, Pakistan A3, England AB4, New Zealand B1, South Africa B2 and Sri Lanka B3. A team that is not among the pre-seeded teams will take over that team's designated position if it qualifies for the Super 7 while the seeded team does not advance.

As per the schedule for the Super 7 stage featuring the pre-seeded teams, Australia vs Sri Lanka on October 25 in Johannesburg will kick off this round, while New Zealand face Pakistan in the second match on October 26 in Gqeberha. South Africa's first match in Super 7 is against England on October 27 in Tshwane while India's opening Super 7 match will be against Australia in Victoria Falls on October 28. India then face South Africa on October 31 in Johannesburg and play New Zealand in Paarl on November 4.

If both teams advance past the group stage, there may be another India-Pakistan match on November 7 in Cape Town. India will play England on November 11 in Gqeberha, and India will play Sri Lanka on November 14 in Durban to conclude the Super 7 stage.

The Cricket World Cup Qualifier's second, third, and fourth-place teams will compete in a three-team Super Series on October 2 in Windhoek. The top team from each of the three teams will advance to the group stage, where they will play each other once on October 2, 4, and 6. The person who comes out on top in the Qualifier will go straight to the group stage.

Ten of the 14 teams were confirmed at the September 30, 2026 qualification cut-off. Hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe qualified directly, alongside the eight highest-ranked teams in the ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings. The Cricket World Cup Qualifier will determine the remaining four spots; the winning team will advance directly to the group stage, while the other three teams will participate in the Super Series.

Along with hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, India, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh made it through the rankings. Despite being a co-host, Namibia is one of the teams that has not yet qualified, and West Indies will also participate in the Qualifier.

The tournament will feature 57 matches across the Super Series, group stage, Super 7 phase, and knockout stages. The tournament will be staged across 12 venues - eight in South Africa, three in Zimbabwe and one in Namibia.

South Africa will host matches in Cape Town, Paarl, Johannesburg, Tshwane, Bloemfontein, Durban, KuGompo City and Gqeberha. The three Super Series matches as well as the three group games will be played at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek, while Zimbabwe's venues are Harare, Bulawayo, and the Mosi-oa-Tunya Stadium in Victoria Falls. Durban and Windhoek will host the most matches, with six each. Five games will be played in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, and Gqeberha, while four games will be played in Tshwane, Paarl, KuGompo City, Harare, and Victoria Falls. Bulawayo will stage two matches.

Full schedule

Super series

Date Match Venue
October 2 QF1 vs QF3 Windhoek
October 4 QF1 vs QF2 Windhoek
October 6 QF2 vs QF3 Windhoek
Group stage, Group A

Date Match Venue
October 7 India vs Australia Cape Town
October 8 Pakistan vs Afghanistan Tshwane
October 9 Zimbabwe vs Qualifier A Bulawayo
October 10 India vs Pakistan Johannesburg
October 11 Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan Bulawayo
October 12 Australia vs Qualifier A Paarl
October 14 India vs Afghanistan Tshwane
October 15 Pakistan vs Qualifier A Bloemfontein
October 15 Zimbabwe vs Australia Harare
October 17 India vs Qualifier A Bloemfontein
October 18 Australia vs Afghanistan KuGompo City
October 19 Zimbabwe vs Pakistan Harare
October 21 Afghanistan vs Qualifier A KuGompo City
October 22 Australia vs Pakistan Paarl
October 24 Zimbabwe vs India Victoria Falls
Group stage, Group B

Date Match Venue
October 8 England vs Bangladesh Windhoek
October 9 South Africa vs New Zealand Cape Town
October 10 Sri Lanka vs Qualifier B Windhoek
October 12 New Zealand vs Bangladesh KuGompo City
October 13 England vs Sri Lanka Windhoek
October 13 South Africa vs Qualifier B Paarl
October 16 Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh Durban
October 16 South Africa vs England Gqeberha
October 17 New Zealand vs Qualifier B Harare
October 19 South Africa vs Bangladesh Durban
October 20 New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Johannesburg
October 20 England vs Qualifier B Harare
October 22 South Africa vs Sri Lanka Johannesburg
October 23 England vs New Zealand Gqeberha
October 23 Bangladesh vs Qualifier B Tshwane
Super 7 (as per pre-seeded teams)

Date Match Venue
October 25 A2 (Australia) vs B3 (Sri Lanka) Johannesburg
October 26 B1 (New Zealand) vs A3 (Pakistan) Gqeberha
October 27 B2 (South Africa) vs AB4 (England) Tshwane
October 28 A1 (India) vs A2 (Australia) Victoria Falls
October 29 B1 (New Zealand) vs B3 (Sri Lanka) KuGompo City
October 30 A3 (Pakistan) vs AB4 (England) Victoria Falls
October 31 B2 (South Africa) vs A1 (India) Johannesburg
November 1 A2 (Australia) vs B1 (New Zealand) Victoria Falls
November 2 B3 (Sri Lanka) vs AB4 (England) Cape Town
November 3 B2 (South Africa) vs A3 (Pakistan) Durban
November 4 A1 (India) vs B1 (New Zealand) Paarl
November 5 A2 (Australia) vs AB4 (England) Durban
November 6 B2 (South Africa) vs B3 (Sri Lanka) Bloemfontein
November 7 A1 (India) vs A3 (Pakistan) Cape Town
November 8 B1 (New Zealand) vs AB4 (England) Durban
November 9 B2 (South Africa) vs A2 (Australia) Gqeberha
November 10 A3 (Pakistan) vs B3 (Sri Lanka) Bloemfontein
November 11 A1 (India) vs AB4 (England) Gqeberha
November 12 B2 (South Africa) vs B1 (New Zealand) Cape Town
November 13 A2 (Australia) vs A3 (Pakistan) Bloemfontein
November 14 A1 (India) vs B3 (Sri Lanka) Durban
Knockouts

Date Match Venue
November 17 Semi-final 1 Cape Town
November 18 Semi-final 2 Tshwane
November 21 Final Johannesburg